The Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback, at the age of 38, knows the end is not far away.

In regular-people years, of course, the man known as Smilin’ Hank is in the prime of his life. In professional football-player years, he’s a wise old man.

With that in mind, Burris, who threw his first pass in the Canadian Football League in 1998 with the Calgary Stampeders, put his mind to a new training regimen once he returned to his off-season home in Calgary, determined to arrive at Tiger-Cats camp a little more fleet afoot.

Under the watch of personal trainer James Gattinger at the Bob Niven Training Centre at Canada Olympic Park, Burris concentrated on workouts that centred on explosiveness, whether it was squats and cleans in the weight room or Pilates to strengthen his core muscles.

“When it comes to old age, you lose your quickness before you lose your speed,” Burris said after the Ticats practised at McMaster University on Tuesday.

“We got after it. He really pushed my tail this year. Now, hopefully, I can get away from some of these (players in their 20s) who are after me, and turn a negative into a positive gain.”

Of course, it’s impossible to properly simulate a game in practice and Burris will not be on the field for the Tiger-Cats’ first pre-season game, on Thursday in Montreal against the Alouettes. So he won’t know for sure until the Ticats conclude their pre-season against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 20, but the early indicators point to changes.

It’s imperative that Burris is as good as he can be in 2013. The Ticats offence has a hole with the absence of receiver Chris Williams, who has been unwilling to honour his contract and sits at home. And where Quinton Porter might have been an accepted fall-back option in the past, the man now expected to be Burris’ backup, Dan LeFevour, has no CFL experience. Nor does Brian Brohm, who will push LeFevour.

“There already is a huge difference,” Burris said. “I came back stronger in all three areas — my core, my upper body and lower body.

“I challenge myself to get better at the things I did not do as well last year, whether it was decision-making, mechanics, be stronger and make sure I could do things during the course of the game and in the season.”

It’s not just for personal longevity that Burris had to make off-season adjustments. He had great numbers last season and led the CFL with 5,367 passing yards, the most he had thrown for in any season in his CFL career. Of his 391 completions, again, the most he has had, no less than 43 went for touchdowns, another personal high.

All of that and the Ticats still were sitting at home watching when the CFL playoffs got underway in November.

“Once we got going on the slide, things really started to get negative. (Kent Austin) has tested us on that and taught us that when things do turn on adversity’s side, it’s how you overcome that quickly. You know that you will make a play, and the other team will as well, and it’s how you respond to that.”

Austin, whose glory days as a CFL quarterback included Grey Cups with the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions, is the guidepost for a group of veterans who have made last season just a memory.

That Austin, the Ticats’ new general manager and head coach, has such a history as a player in the game drives Burris and his teammates.

“We had some great battles when he was coaching in Saskatchewan, in Toronto, and to finally be here with him, it feels like it was something that was meant to be,” Burris said.

“I love it. To be able to have knowledge, the fact he has been there and done that — when he talks about it, you have that respect.”

WHO’S BEHIND HANK?

HAMILTON — Quarterback Dan LeFevour will start for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday night in Montreal.

General manager and head coach Kent Austin has a rotation in mind for the pre-season game against the Alouettes, but it won’t include starting quarterback Henry Burris.

“You have to play it a little bit by ear,” Austin said on Tuesday. “You don’t know how the game is going to play out and how many series we will have. We do it by quarter, and also by series and plays. Make sure guys that we need to look at and need to play have got enough of what they need to execute. It is not a perfect science.”

Quarterbacks Brian Brohm and Jeremiah Masoli, and possibly Chris Amrhein, also will take snaps against the Als, who will start veteran Anthony Calvillo.

Burris isn’t the lone Ticats vet who will have to wait until next week to get in a pre-season game. Among those who won’t play in Montreal are receivers Andy Fantuz and Sam Giguere, offensive linemen Marwan Hage and Peter Dyakowski, defensive lineman Brian Bulcke and defensive back Evan McCollough.

Henry Burris is another year older, another year wiser and more prepared than ever

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback, at the age of 38, knows the end is not far away.

In regular-people years, of course, the man known as Smilin’ Hank is in the prime of his life. In professional football-player years, he’s a wise old man.

With that in mind, Burris, who threw his first pass in the Canadian Football League in 1998 with the Calgary Stampeders, put his mind to a new training regimen once he returned to his off-season home in Calgary, determined to arrive at Tiger-Cats camp a little more fleet afoot.

Under the watch of personal trainer James Gattinger at the Bob Niven Training Centre at Canada Olympic Park, Burris concentrated on workouts that centred on explosiveness, whether it was squats and cleans in the weight room or Pilates to strengthen his core muscles.

“When it comes to old age, you lose your quickness before you lose your speed,” Burris said after the Ticats practised

While Mike Babcock decides who will be
his fourth-line centre and which players
will comprise his third defence pair,
the Maple Leafs coach feels nothing but
a wave of confidence when he glances at
his goaltending crease.